About one in 14 people with a credit file in Dolores County, Colorado, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Dolores County, 7.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 59% of U.S. counties.
What drives Dolores County's score
In Dolores County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 55.8. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 34.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Dolores County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Even so, Dolores County is worse off than most counties on rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (25.8%, fiscal year 2027) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (5.0%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 55.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.2% · 202466th percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.8% · 202471st percentile
- People with a disability13.5% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
- People without health insurance7.9% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,951 · 202464th percentile
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- 50.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202679th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.1% · 2020 to 202422nd percentile
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- 45.8 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent2.6% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.8% · fiscal year 202786th percentile
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- 37.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.4% · August 202564th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202521st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score33.7% · second quarter of 202624th percentile
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- 34.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector7.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people159.2 · 202562nd percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Dolores County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Dolores County, 31.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Dolores County
Colorado
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Dolores County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 31.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Dolores County, Colorado, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Dolores County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 7.5% in 2020 to 10.7% in 2021.
The share of households in Dolores County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2021 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 4.8% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Dolores County, Colorado.
How Dolores County has changed
Dolores County's population had its largest rise, from 1,506 in 1994 to 1,824 in 1999.
Dolores County's population nearly doubled to 2,467, the highest on the chart
High on the chart: 2,467 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Dolores County, Colorado.
The number of jobs located in Dolores County had its largest rise, from 386 in 2010 to 758 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Dolores County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 758 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Dolores County, Colorado.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.8% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.4% | 2024 15.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,290 | 2024 $61,951 |
The table uses 4.2% for 2025; the score uses 5.0% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Dolores County's history
1881
Created February 19, 1881 from the western portions of Ouray County. Wikipedia
2017
Lightning in August 2017 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 2,326, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1970
8 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Dolores County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Dolores County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Dolores County, in Colorado and Utah, two score higher. Of the group, Dolores County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (31.4%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Juan County, UT | 62 | 19.5% | 29.6% |
| Montezuma County, CO | 60 | 14.8% | 29.9% |
| Dolores County, CO | 40 | 15.2% | 31.4% |
| San Juan County, CO | 38 | 11.7% | 19.2% |
| San Miguel County, CO | 10 | 8.0% | 5.3% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Dolores County the poorest county in Colorado?
No, Dolores County's poverty rate was 15.2% in 2024, 16th highest of 64 in Colorado (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Crowley County, at 39.0%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Dolores County ranks 26th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Dolores County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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Colorado Legal Services
Legal aid
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Colorado Bar Association — Find a Lawyer directory
Find a lawyer
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Dolores County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Dolores County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.